Pentagon trying to censor top US political cartoonist (Toles)

[CatWoman]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff just sent a menacing letter to the Washington Post over a cartoon. AMERICAblog received a copy of the letter at 10AM this morning, but as its veracity was not yet confirmed, we waited until E&P was able to confirm that is is for real.

Here's the letter the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote to the Post.

And why not have the Pentagon try to stifle a free media while supposedly promoting freedom in Iraq? The US government just arrested one of President Bush's top political critics for threatening his life with a t-shirt. So why not now threaten a top political cartoonist for drawing a cartoon that the Pentagon doesn't like? Why not use the power of government to try to censor the media, something that's a direct violation of that pesky and quaint 1st Amendment to the US Constitution - you remember, that document the Bush administration doesn't think is relevant.

more at link: http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/02/pentagon-trying-to-censor-top-us.html

Here's the toon:

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Hey, Pentagon, censor THIS

[JeffR]

2. Jeebus on a pogo stick

Wouldn't you think the Joint Chiefs would have something better to do?

On second thought, they're probably drawing up war plans for the invasion of Iran...

My bad.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Boy, Rummie sure has a hard time

with criticism.

[leftchick]

4. I love Toles!

and am shocked the Post has kept him this long.

[niyad]

5. pointing out how the military is actually treating our wounded service-

members, lying about their numbers, the causes of their injuries (and deaths) is callous, but the treatment referred to isn't? what a load of BS. I guess they fear that if we see too much of this sort of thing, the sheeples might actually start noticing what is really happening-oh, my, we cannot have that!!

[magellan]

6. If the JCoS care so much about wounded soldiers

...why didn't they write a letter to Rumsfeld two years ago asking where the effin' flak jackets and properly armored vehicles were, replete with the rare sight of all their signatures?

Posturing tools.

[annabanana]

7. ATTENTION JOINT CHEIFS OF STAFF:

If it distresses you to contemplate armless and/or legless victims of the war in Iraq..
BRING THEM HOME

Jesus H. Christ!!

[progressoid]

8. To be fair, they weren't trying to censor him

They simply expressed their opinion concerning the cartoon in question. I didn't read anything of a censorship nature in the letter.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/tolesletter.pdf

[hvn_nbr_2]

9. "callous depiction of those who have volunteered"

The letter from JCS calls the cartoon a "callous depiction of those who have volunteered." I'd call it a "depiction of callous DOD treatment of those who have volunteered." Stupid dorks can't even tell who the cartoon is disparaging.

[EVDebs]

10. This is why you need to see Three Days of the Condor.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2432151&mesg_id=2432151

In the '70s this was a scandal the NYTimes would have reported on in a fictional world...thirty years later the NYTimes is complicit in covering up the story ! Cliff Robertson's character wins in the end it seems. Was he a Bush relative in the Agency ? Must've been...

[Gregorian]

11. They can't handle their own truth.

But they attempt to manufacture it with lies.

[Straight Shooter]

12. We expose the truth with the editorial cartoonists we have ...

... not the editorial cartoonists they want.

[Swamp Rat]

13. Spread this cartoon all over the Internet... SUPPORT THE TROOPS!

:)

Let's send spread it by replying to mass mailing lists.

[Neil Lisst]

14. I got visits to my site from NSA for this cartoon:

[banana republican]

15. My LTTE: RE: The "Letter"

Perhaps the Joint Chiefs should be doing their job; like getting body armour,
clean drinking water, and good food; rather than worrying about the the clear
and present danger of a cartoon.

[DemFerLife]

16. Hrmmm

I find it offensive.. How is attacking the soldiers doing any good? The administration, fine. But the ones who are sent out to do their and our bidding is stepping a bit over the line.

So this is how you want all of us to look to the rest of the world? Unappreciative of our soldiers sacrifices? They were sent their because they were ordered to, not because they chose to. How many of you have seen any of the soldiers in Walter Reid? How many of you have served? I was in both OIF and OEF, I was stationed at Langley AFB and helped launch the jets to intercept the planes that hit the pentagon and the WTC and flight 93, but unfortunally we were too late. I've had friends die in IED attacks, and others mangled and I find this cartoon in VERY poor taste.

[tabasco]

17. I don't think you understand the cartoon.

I'm a soldier and I understand it just fine. It means Rumsfeld has treated the military like shit, and refuses to believe it when generals like General Joulwan (my former division commander) tell him the Army is broke. The cartoon is attacking Rumseld, not soldiers.

I'm an Army Ranger and been in combat twice. There's lots of vets on this board. I think most of them would understand the cartoon too. ALL of the Army people I know hate Rumsfeld's guts.

Maybe it is different in the nice air conditioned world of the Air Force. Why don't you sign up for that blue-to-green program?

[Hissyspit]

18. It would be in poor taste if it wasn't making a serious point, and it is

making a serious point. And, frankly, the Joint Chiefs have better things to do.

[malaise]

26. Tell them to read this

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/02/141714.php

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nostradammit]

20. I'd keep that bit about launching the jets on 9-11 under my hat -

if I were you.

Which I am not.


"I was on the bridge of the Titanic, keeping an eye out for icebergs on that cold night in 1912..."


"So then I says to the General, 'General Custer, sir, I think a strong force of cavalry would scare the piss out of them..."


"I finally convinced Jack to go to Dallas, instead..."


Crikey

[Neil Lisst]

21. It's about the understating and hiding of troop injuries.

You're in the camp of those who find talking about or showing the thousands of severely injured more offensive than HAVING thousands of injured.

[PBass]

22. On a superficial level it looks cruel

It really helps to know the back-story (Rumsfeld saying the troops are not stretched thin, they are just battle-hardened).

A person's level of outrage about the cartoon is probably inversely proportional with how closely they are following the war.

I like Toles' cartoons a lot, he is terrific!

Dumsfeld is an utter jackass who shoulda been fired years ago, but incompetent staff seem to get promotions and awards under Bush.

[Neil Lisst]

23. It's an editorial cartoon. It's meant to cause a response.

I think it does a good job of showing that talking about or showing badly injured soldiers is attacked more than actually getting those soldiers injured.

Our society tries to hide away the ugliness of war, and when the Joint Chiefs get their panties in a bunch over a cartoon, it's doing its job.

They should be ashamed of all the soldiers they are maiming.

[mdmc]

24. Welcome to DU!

I love this toon, but I still have all my limbs. I never supported w.'s rush to war. I think that we would have less military casualties if we built a true coalition and planned for a long term occupation. We would have no casualties if we used containment and diplomacy, but, Gore didn't take the white house in 2000.

Thank you for serving our country in the military. You did it to protect our (and Toles') freedom, right?

[wicket]

25. Get mad at the Pentagon.

Get mad at the Pentagon then, and the Bush administration for sending you and your buddies into combat without the appropriate armor.